DUTCH SCHOOL
The picture reflects a curious history. Hobbema was
never a successful artist and he was unable to find a
sale for his pictures. After his marriage in 1668 and his
acceptance of a comfortable post at the local customs,
he completely forsook his art and the only picture
painted after the date of his wedding was his master-
piece, the'Avenue3, This fact alone proves that in Hob-
bema we have a supreme example of one who knew
how to rest upon his laurels.
The scene of Hobbema's picture is typical of the
Dutch country-side with its wide open plains and mop-
like trees. The composition is of a geometrical form-
ality. The trees are so placed that, from whatever point
the spectator looks at the picture, the avenue is directly
in front of him, and no matter whether we are on the
extreme right or the extreme left we can follow -the
avenue from its nearest point to the village at which it
ends. This phenomenon of perspective is not unique
and there are many examples of portraits in which the
eyes follow one round the room.1
Hobbema has left nothing to the imagination and the
smallest details, even down to the ruts in the road and
the damp on the houses, are minutely observed. The
dyke, the tilled field and the orchard in which a man is
pruning his trees are all finished with accuracy and
judgment.
With the famous View near Haarlem (No, 2561),
by jacob van ruisdael (1628/29-1682), we re-
vert from naturalism to the sphere of imagination. The
dramatic contrasts of light and shade, the ruins by the
1 The pistol painted as an advertisement for the rifle manu-
facturers in Pall Mall (opposite Marlborough House) is designed
on the same principle.
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